Should I go from sand to bare bottom?

[Natescorals]

What would be better to keep the best water quality and stability?

 

[Billldg]

That is kinda a loaded question. For every response their will be a counter and so forth. I think it is ultimately up to what you want. I have also thought about going bare bottom, but I just love the look of the sand. The counter to that is the maintenance of having to maintain the cleanliness of the sand. I think it comes down to the amount of surface area you have for bacteria to populate. Some just have rock in their DT and other have it in their sump as well. On my next tank I will have sand again, but this time I will also add 60 to 80 pounds of live rock to the sump. Being from Miami, Fl I will always have a connection to the ocean and the beach and thus will always have sand in my tank.

I really don't think their is a best answer to this question as it comes down to personal preference. The only thing that is for sure is the more water volume you have the more stable the tank is.

 

[RCS82]

Do you plan on running a fuge?
On my new tank I went bare bottom but with a large fuge that has small rubble and lots of rock. I'm loving it. In month 5 now and my water is crystal clear, no nuisance algae, pods, coraline and microfauna everywhere.
Sand is great too though. It's just pros and cons to each.

 

[Natescorals]

That is kinda a loaded question. For every response their will be a counter and so forth. I think it is ultimately up to what you want. I have also thought about going bare bottom, but I just love the look of the sand. The counter to that is the maintenance of having to maintain the cleanliness of the sand. I think it comes down to the amount of surface area you have for bacteria to populate. Some just have rock in their DT and other have it in their sump as well. On my next tank I will have sand again, but this time I will also add 60 to 80 pounds of live rock to the sump. Being from Miami, Fl I will always have a connection to the ocean and the beach and thus will always have sand in my tank.

I really don't think their is a best answer to this question as it comes down to personal preference. The only thing that is for sure is the more water volume you have the more stable the tank is.

Thank you. I would love to go bare bottom but I’ve heard with that it’s extremely hard to keep parameters stable including PH. But the problem with sand is how do you clean it?? People say If you disturb the sand bed you can cause a die off and another cycle then others say you should siphon and stir it up. There are so many mix ups here and it’s extremely confusing. Do you clean the sand or not?’and if your supposed to clean it how do you go about doing that?

 

[Natescorals]

Do you plan on running a fuge?
On my new tank I went bare bottom but with a large fuge that has small rubble and lots of rock. I'm loving it. In month 5 now and my water is crystal clear, no nuisance algae, pods, coraline and microfauna everywhere.
Sand is great too though. It's just pros and cons to each.

I have a fuge but I have no idea what to put inside the fuge

 

[Natescorals]

Do you plan on running a fuge?
On my new tank I went bare bottom but with a large fuge that has small rubble and lots of rock. I'm loving it. In month 5 now and my water is crystal clear, no nuisance algae, pods, coraline and microfauna everywhere.
Sand is great too though. It's just pros and cons to each.

How much rock and sand is in the fuge? Did you put old sand or new sand in the fuge? Also what else is in the fuge?

 

[Dan_P]

Thank you. I would love to go bare bottom but I’ve heard with that it’s extremely hard to keep parameters stable including PH. But the problem with sand is how do you clean it?? People say If you disturb the sand bed you can cause a die off and another cycle then others say you should siphon and stir it up. There are so many mix ups here and it’s extremely confusing. Do you clean the sand or not?’and if your supposed to clean it how do you go about doing that?

Many opinions and little science with regards to this discussion. Here are some thoughts.

When an aquarium is having nuisance organism growth on the sand, @brandon429 might recommend rip cleaning. This is an invasive procedure and drastically disturbing to the sand ecosystem. Does it solve the problem? Is there a loss to the system’s capability to process ammonia? Explore this topic to help you decide whether keeping the sand clean through vacuuming and stirring is really a big deal or not.

Does aragonite sand stabilize pH, Ca and alkalinity? If aragonite sand had a large effect on these parameters, would we even be having a discussion about a bare bottom aquarium? Does successful coral aquaculture system depend on the presence of aragonite? Did the opinion about aragonite originate before automated dosing existed? Can rock provide enough surface area to process ammonia?

Make another thread asking “what it is like to maintain a bare bottom system”. Be specific in your post. You are looking for people with experience, not opinions.

 

[fishguy242]

hi bare bottom , live rock in sump ,cheato in fuge,imo ,happy reefing

 

[Natescorals]

Many opinions and little science with regards to this discussion. Here are some thoughts.

When an aquarium is having nuisance organism growth on the sand, @brandon429 might recommend rip cleaning. This is an invasive procedure and drastically disturbing to the sand ecosystem. Does it solve the problem? Is there a loss to the system’s capability to process ammonia? Explore this topic to help you decide whether keeping the sand clean through vacuuming and stirring is really a big deal or not.

Does aragonite sand stabilize pH, Ca and alkalinity? If aragonite sand had a large effect on these parameters, would we even be having a discussion about a bare bottom aquarium? Does successful coral aquaculture system depend on the presence of aragonite? Did the opinion about aragonite originate before automated dosing existed? Can rock provide enough surface area to process ammonia?

Make another thread asking “what it is like to maintain a bare bottom system”. Be specific in your post. You are looking for people with experience, not opinions.

I might try it and see how it goes.

 

[Rilo]

Sand vs Barebottom doesn't make much of a difference in the long run regarding water quality and stability.

There are pro's and con's to each.

Pro's

Sand
- Natural Aesthetic
- filter
- Larger variety of fish that can inhabit the tank

BB
- Can handle high flow
- More coral placement.
- Clinic aesthetic
- Easy to clean

Cons

Sand
- Doesn't look dirty (unless you follow bad maintenance
- Can cause a nutrient spike if heavily stirred up
- Can't handle high flow

BB
- Collects detritus heavily
- Easily damaged
- Can't have sand sifters

 

[RCS82]

You are looking for people with experience, not opinions.

Was simply stating my opinion based on my actual experience of keeping both sand and barebottom.

 

[Billldg]

Thank you. I would love to go bare bottom but I’ve heard with that it’s extremely hard to keep parameters stable including PH. But the problem with sand is how do you clean it?? People say If you disturb the sand bed you can cause a die off and another cycle then others say you should siphon and stir it up. There are so many mix ups here and it’s extremely confusing. Do you clean the sand or not?’and if your supposed to clean it how do you go about doing that?

I clean my sand roughly once a month. The key is to not clean the whole sand, I do portions, maybe half every month.

 

[Dan_P]

Was simply stating my opinion based on my actual experience of keeping both sand and barebottom.

Sorry, wasn’t pointing fingers or referring to anyone.